Families gathered on the mall after marching to the Supreme Court to insist that the Court at the very least leave the future of marriage policymaking to the people rather than judicial fiat. Speakers from the National Organization for Marriage, the Heritage Foundation, Concerned Women for America, and others were in an encouraging mode. One got the sense that this was but a beginning of a conversation, a bit of a wake-up call.

In his remarks, Bishop Harry Jackson, a popular Pentecostal minister, among others, made the case that an ideal can have a healing effect on a culture. And families need it.

Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco opened by begging forgiveness for anyone who had been hurt by any of the debate to defend marriage. Again, this is not about winning arguments but helping men and women and children.